Austria’s biggest-ever win sees Arnautovic make history | OneFootball

Having not featured at a World Cup since 1998, Austria took a major step towards ending that drought with a historic rout.

In their Group H qualifier last night, the Austrians showed no mercy against minnows San Marino, cruising to a 10-0 victory - the biggest win in the nation’s history across all competitions.

Before this demolition, Austria’s record margin had been 9-0, achieved twice: once against Malta in the 1978 World Cup qualifiers.

Thursday night’s result also earned a place in the record books of the European Qualifiers, ranking fifth among the competition’s most one-sided scorelines. The all-time record remains West Germany’s 12–0 win over Cyprus in 1969. Austria’s 10-goal triumph matches others in goal difference - such as Norway’s 11-1 over Moldova (2025), Hungary’s 11-1 over Greece (1938), and Liechtenstein’s 11-1 over North Macedonia (1996) - but falls just short on total goals scored.

It was a night to remember in Vienna for Marko Arnautovic, who bagged four goals and etched his name into national history. The 36-year-old forward overtook Toni Polster as Austria’s all-time leading scorer, now sitting on 45 goals in 128 appearances, one ahead of Polster’s 44 in 95 games. Hans Krankl remains third with 34 in 69.

The record-breaking performance strengthens Arnautovic’s hopes of finally appearing at a World Cup - and with Austria boasting a 100% record after five matches, he might just get his chance.